Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently curb joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent.<\/p>\n
Before a crucial European summit on Wednesday, the prime minister urged fellow members to \u201cgo further\u201d in modernising the interpretation of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation.<\/p>\n
But Labour has been condemned for calling for changes, with human rights campaigners, Labour peers and some MPs arguing they could open the door to countries abandoning some of the world\u2019s most vulnerable people.<\/p>\n
Critics of the government\u2019s asylum changes also argue that the prime minister should not be diluting protections that pander to the right, amid deepening concerns from charities that its rhetoric could demonise refugees.<\/p>\n
On the eve of the Council of Europe summit in Strasbourg, the actors Michael Palin, Stephen Fry and Joanna Lumley were among 21 well-known figures calling on Starmer to drop plans<\/a> to weaken human rights law and instead \u201ctake a principled stand\u201d for torture victims.<\/p>\n Under sweeping changes announced last month<\/a>, the government said it wanted to introduce measures to stop asylum seekers using their rights in the ECHR to a family life to avoid deportation. The Conservatives and Reform UK have called for withdrawal from the convention altogether.<\/p>\n But writing for the Guardian, the prime minister said that updating the interpretation of the convention was urgently required<\/a> to confront the challenges posed by mass migration \u2013 and far-right forces that sought to divide mainstream opinion across Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best way of fighting against the forces of hate and division, is to show that mainstream, progressive politics can fix this problem,\u201d he wrote in a joint article with the Danish leader, Mette Frederiksen.<\/p>\n \u201cListening to legitimate concerns and acting on them is what our politics is about. That\u2019s not empty populism, it\u2019s democracy. We are determined to show that our societies can act with compassion while upholding law and order, and fairness.\u201d<\/p>\n The two leaders called on European allies to go further in tackling the shared challenge of migration by modernising the ECHR to reflect the challenges of the 21st century.<\/p>\n \u201cEurope has faced big tests before and we have overcome them by acting together. Now we must do so again. Otherwise, the forces that seek to divide us will grow stronger.<\/p>\n \u201cSo our message is this: as responsible, progressive governments we will deliver the change that people are crying out for. We will control our borders to protect our democracies \u2013 and make our nations stronger than ever in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer\u2019s government will be represented at the Strasbourg meeting by David Lammy (left). Photograph: Thomas Krych\/Zuma Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n The UK has sought to emulate Denmark\u2019s hardline asylum model<\/a>. Last year, the number of people being granted asylum in the country was the lowest in 40 years, excluding 2020 which was during the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n